


Too Far Gone and yet Not Far Enough

by Sincerely_Insanity



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bongs, Drugs, First Kiss, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, M/M, Older Louis Tomlinson, Older Zayn Malik, Sexual Tension, Smoking, Weed, Younger Harry Styles, Younger Liam Payne, buzzcut!liam, pot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:27:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28759557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sincerely_Insanity/pseuds/Sincerely_Insanity
Summary: College au where Liam picks up weed for Harry
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Too Far Gone and yet Not Far Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there I've had this drabble in the works for a lot of years now and I've finally finished it. I know this isn't an update to my ongoing stories, but I'm really pleased that I've finished a wip thats been nagging at me for so long. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Anyways...!

Liam really shouldn't be doing this.

He really _should_ be studying for his history exam right now. The upcoming test was worth more than ten percent of his final grade.

And what would he have to say for himself? That he failed a class because he wasted valuable time that could have been spent studying to go pick up pot for Harry?

Yeah, cause that made him feel so much better about his decision.

He already felt uneasy about the idea of going to some stranger’s flat to get drugs. The added stress of having an important test at eleven the next morning just made the knots in his stomach tighten that much more. However, Liam is a bit of a pushover and his (naïve) defense, Harry _had_ seemed pretty distraught when he realized he wouldn’t have time between work and his own study sessions to pick the weed up for himself. Liam knew that it helped Harry deal with his anxiety and felt a bit guilty when he caught himself trying to think of excuses as to why he couldn’t help out. Although most of what Liam came up with had to do with school and weren’t really excuses at all.

But here he was, trying to gather the courage to knock on flat 4A and experience his first ever drug deal.

Harry had assured him that it should only be about a five-minute exchange and wouldn’t be too difficult if he just mentioned Harry’s name. Harry had apparently informed his dealer to expect Liam at his door instead of the green-eyed psych student. And it’s not that Liam didn’t trust his best friend, it’s just, well things never seemed to quite work out for Liam the way they did for Harry.

However, Liam did his best to push down his nerves in order to raise his hand and lightly tap his knuckles against the faded brown door. Shuffling could be heard from the other side and Liam found himself taking a deep breath; his last attempt at trying to center himself.

When the door finally opened Liam felt his eyebrows raise in disbelief.

A small voice in the back of Liam’s mind cursed him for _already_ fucking something up as the man before him looked nothing like Harry had described. He was supposed to find a guy named Louis, who as Harry put it “has sick tattoos, brown hair that's usually pulled back in a headband, shorter than you by quite a bit and has _fantastic_ curves.” And although Harry’s description still left quite a bit to the imagination, Liam was sure that the lean dark haired man before him was not Louis.

Liam was finding it a bit difficult to be upset with his apparent mistake however, as he felt like finding this guy (who had some pretty sick tattoos of his own) was some kind of reward. A reward that Liam probably didn’t deserve as the man was absolutely stunning and way out of his league, but a reward nonetheless.

“Who are you?”

And okay _fuck_. Liam should have known the guy would have a hot voice to match his attractive physique, but it still caused Liam’s mouth to dry out and his tongue grow three sizes.

“My name is Liam and I’m looking for Louis,” Liam answered, appreciative of the fact he hadn’t stumbled over his words.

The lad quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. “Louis? And what could you be trying to find Louis for?”

Liam did his best not to curl in on himself as the man's eyes traveled up and down Liam’s body, a slight smirk resting on his lips.

Liam cleared his throat and tried to square out his shoulders in an attempt to appear more confident than he actually felt. Although he couldn't help the way his fingers nervously fumbled with the bottom of his shirt and was sure the anxious tick gave him away. It was something he'd had trouble with after he had shaved off his curls and didn’t have anything to reach up and tug on anymore.

“So, you know him then? Do you know where I could find him?” Liam asked, not even attempting to answer the man's question. What was he supposed to say to that anyway? That he was looking for Louis so he could buy marijuana? Liam wasn’t completely daft.

“Yeah I know him, he’s my roommate, but I’m not just gonna give his whereabouts out to anyone that asks,” He said while his face contorted into a look of suspicion.

And just as Liam was about to let his frustration get the better of him a hand landed roughly on his shoulder.

“Oi, Zayn leave the kid alone will ya?” Liam turned to his left and was met with a pair of bright blue eyes.

“You’re Liam, yeah? Here to pick up for Harry?” Liam felt his body relax slightly as he took in the guy's appearance. He looked a lot more like what Harry had described which meant Liam _hadn’t_ fucked anything up.

“Yeah, you’re Louis then?” Liam replied, just wanting to be certain that he had the correct person this time.

“The one and only.” Louis jested before stepping forward and pushing his roommate— Zayn, aside and walking into their flat. “Come on in, not doing this shit out in the hallway for fucks sake,” Louis called over his shoulder when he noticed no one had filed in behind him.

Liam rolled his bottom lip into his mouth and chewed on it nervously as he realized Zayn wasn’t going to let him through the doorway.

“My god, Zayn let the kid through. What’s your problem? Ya think he’s a snitch or something?” Louis questioned, clearly irritated with the way his roommate was acting.

Zayn said nothing, only narrowed his eyes at Liam a bit until finally he stepped aside so Liam could enter.

“Just his usual, yeah? Anything for yourself?” Louis asked once Liam was within arms length of him again. Louis plopped down onto their couch and began pulling out small containers from his pack. Liam thought they looked like something medication might come in, but instead of being plastic they were glass.

“Yeah, he said you would know what he usually gets, but no, none for me,” Liam quickly clarified.

“Figures,” Zayn scoffed from the other end of the room.

“Well what’s that supposed to mean?” Liam snapped.

Louis’s head jolted up from where it was half stuffed inside of his backpack. “Come on now lads, no need to be twats.”

“Sorry, I’d just like to know what I’ve done to piss him off,” Liam (sort of) apologized. He didn’t need Harry on his ass for fighting with his crush's roommate, but it frustrated him how he always seemed to get under people’s skin without even trying.

“Ah, don’t worry too much, Zayn can just be a bit of an asshole sometimes. Offer him a quick blowie and I’m sure he’ll be straight with ya,” Louis snorted.

Liam’s mouth all but hit the floor at Louis’s crude words, and he could feel his face begin to heat up with embarrassment. Although, he couldn't find it in himself to be too upset with Louis when Zayn suddenly filled the room with a loud burst of laughter. He would never admit it out loud, but the sound had Liam sighing dreamily in his head. “Nah, he’s probably got enough strikes on his goodie goodie record with this drug deal as it is,” Zayn said with a smirk.

“I’m not a goodie goodie,” Liam defended with a sour expression.

And this time it wasn’t just Zayn who filled the apartment with laughter.

“Who are either of you to say? You don’t even know me.” Liam felt like stomping his foot in frustration at the two men who only continued to laugh at his expense.

“Look mate, s’not a bad thing alright? We can just tell you aren’t interested in the same, um, extracurricular _activities_ as us.” And Liam knew Louis was doing his best to make him feel less of an outcast in their presence, but he was doing a shit job of it.

“And just how would you know what I’m interested in and not interested in?” Liam shot back. He wasn’t sure why he was getting so worked up about this, but he had a growing feeling it had something to do with the way Zayn was looking at him. The challenge was loud and clear in the man's eyes and Liam didn't want to back down.

“I mean any friend of Harry’s is a friend of mine. If you’ve got the time we could chill for a bit,” Louis offered with a shrug.

“Yeah come on then, come on,” Zayn agreed, all too eagerly for Liam's taste. He knew the lad wanted— expected him to bow out, but Liam wanted Zayn to see that he could hang just as much as the next guy.

And so against his better judgment, Liam took a seat between Louis and Zayn on their couch.

“Alright mates, let’s get a good round going then,” Louis said before pulling out something that Harry had referred to once as a bong.

“Marco.”

Liam’s eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and turned so that he was facing Louis properly. “What?”

“Oh yeah, that’s probably not fair cause you’re just a babe,” Louis commented, more to himself than to anyone else which really didn’t help Liam understand at all what he was on about.

“It’s something we say when there are more than two people smoking. So whoever calls back polo would get greens,” Zayn clarified once he realized Louis had become distracted with preparing the weed.

Liam nodded his head, but it was merely out of politeness and hopefully made him seem less of a newbie as he still had no clue what the hell either of them were saying. It almost seemed like they were speaking in a different language and had Liam thinking that maybe this wasn’t one of his best ideas.

“Here, since you’re new and our guest I’ll let you take the first hit,” Louis said and thrust the bong into Liam’s hands along with a lighter.

“Uh- I don’t know, maybe you should go first,” Liam stumbled slightly, becoming increasingly aware of the fact that he had no idea what he was doing or really _why_ he was doing it for that matter.

He heard Zayn sigh next to him and quickly found his hands being emptied while the opening of the bong was being pushed towards his mouth. “Ya know it's kind of rude to disregard someone's kind gesture like that.”

Liam’s face twisted up in discomfort and moved away from the glass in order to apologize, but stopped when he saw Zayn’s eyes flash with frustration. “Just put your lips here and suck when I tell you, you can pull away anytime after that,”

Liam nodded his head, trying to block out Louis’ “that’s what he said” joke and just follow Zayn’s instructions.

He watched as Zayn’s fingers appeared in front of the bong and lit the foul smelling plant. Smoke began to float above the small bowl piece, but he couldn't let himself get too distracted as Zayn motioned for him to start sucking in the smoke that was filtering its way up through the glass.

Liam pulled back abruptly as his lungs almost immediately began to protest. It felt as though he may never stop coughing and was grateful when his empty hand was suddenly clutching a water bottle. He chugged as much water as he could in between the bouts of coughing fits he continued to experience.

“Think we killed him?” He heard Louis ask after he had finally settled down and rested his head on the back of the couch with his eyes closed.

“Why the fuck would anyone want to do that?” Liam questioned, his voice coming out rough and a bit strained.

“Ah, no worries. It gets easier with practice, just like anything else really. Plus you’ll understand more when you start to feel it,” Louis explained and Liam could practically see him shrugging his shoulders as though none of this was a big deal. And it probably wasn’t, at least not to either of them, but this was Liam’s first time doing anything like this and it kind of sucked so far.

“Ya want another go at it, mate?” Louis asked, his voice thick with smoke.

Liam opened his eyes and was about to say no when he caught sight of Zayn slouched against the arm of the couch blowing smoke rings in his direction. “How are you doing that?” He asked, not even trying to hide the amazement in his voice.

Zayn blew the rest of the smoke out of his mouth, the thick cloud settling right in front of Liam’s face. “Practice,” He said with a smirk. Normally Liam’s sure he would have rolled his eyes at Zayn’s more than obvious answer, but for some reason he suddenly felt as though that was the only explanation he needed.

And before his brain could process what was happening, his mouth started to move. “Teach me.”

He felt the couch shift on his left and meant to ask Louis where he was going, but then Zayn’s thumb was slowly dragging across his bottom lip and all of his previous thoughts of Louis quickly vanished.

“Yeah, reckon you’d be good at it,” Zayn mumbled. His eyes darted from Liam's back to his lips a couple of times, silently asking.

Liam's cheeks flamed, but nodded along nonetheless.

Zayn's demeanor softened and slowly brought his hand up to cup the back of Liam's head. Zayn's touch was light and nothing like Liam would have imagined, as though the man was waiting for Liam to pull away and storm out.

When their lips finally met, a small gasp escaped Zayn's mouth, catching the both of them off guard.

"Um, sorry. Your lips are just really soft," Zayn admitted. "Um, wait, no that's dumb. I mean— shit." He cleared his throat and Liam could see the embarrassment creeping up his neck.

"It's not dumb," Liam assured him.

Zayn settled his hand on Liam's upper thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You should probably get back to your friend."

And just like that Louis' words were ringing in Liam's ears.

_Zayn can just be a bit of an asshole sometimes._

"Right. Um, I guess I should," Liam said, annoyance laced throughout every word. He abruptly stood up, letting Zayn's hand fall uselessly onto the couch. He grabbed the pot Louis had left out for Harry and hurried to the door.

"Liam, wait!" Zayn called behind him, but Liam wasn't slowing down. He was on the verge of tears for how stupid he had been and didn't plan on giving Zayn the satisfaction of seeing him that way. Zayn was just like every other douchebag Liam had been attracted to in the past, he's just thankful the lad hadn't talked him into bed completely.

His mind was racing almost as fast as his feet were carrying him down the stairs of the building. He was suddenly yanked to a halt by his shoulder, causing him to lose his balance and stumble into the person behind him.

Zayn let out a yelp as Liam's back collided with his chest and the steps below them slammed into his tailbone. "Fuck" Zayn cursed simply.

"Shit, are you okay?" Liam asked and scrambled off of the man's lap.

"I will be if you agree to go on a date with me," Zayn said with his face twisted in pain.

"What? You just blew me off up there and now you want you to go on a date?"

"No, no. I just thought it'd be better if our first kiss happened when we were both sober or at least when it's not your first time smoking," Zayn explained.

And now Liam felt like the asshole. A simple "Oh." was all Liam could muster.

"Oh as in yeah that sounds great or oh as in fuck off?" Zayn teased and quirked an eyebrow.

Liam's cheeks flamed once again, but his eyes shined with excitement. "Yes, a date sounds great."

"Wicked, now would you mind helping me up? Feels like I broke my ass," Zayn grumbled, he grimaced as he struggled to lift himself up.

"Yeah, I got you," Liam said while getting to his feet and throwing one of Zayn's arms across his shoulders.

"Thanks, Leeyum."

And he supposed Zayn didn't count kisses on the cheek as first kisses, but Liam’s heart fluttered all the same.


End file.
